Chapter 86

At the sight of Shermaine, Wendelyn’s legs turned to jelly. The sting of her earlier public humiliation still lingered, and now, after cominuvale varing da could cost someone their life, her fear was even more overwhelming.

Wendelyn couldn’t help wondering, “Did Shermaine really remove that worm from Leslie? Could she actually have some medical skilta, just tha pempla say? But there was a doctor on-site just now, and even he couldn’t identify the problem.”

Soon enough, her doubts were answered. Lincoln took the time to bid farewell to the York family, explaining, “Leslie’s safe now, but he still needs to rest, so we’ll be taking him home now.”

Owen smiled and said, “I have a rare Reishi mushroom. Take it home to help your son recover. It was a token of goodwill and compensation for the wine incident.”

“Oh no, please don’t trouble yourself. Honestly, Leslie brought this upon himself. When he wakes up, I’ll have to give him a proper talking to,” Lincoln said.

“Don’t stand on ceremony,” Owen said generously. “Take it home. Your son’s recovery is what matters most.”

Given Owen’s insistence, Lincoln could no longer refuse politely. With sincere gratitude, he accepted the precious mushroom.

The doctor who couldn’t diagnose Leslie’s condition grew so curious that he stepped forward to inquire directly.

Lincoln answered frankly, “It was a poisonous worm.”

The doctor was stunned. ‘A poisonous worm? Such a bizarre and sinister thing–no wonder I couldn’t diagnose it. But how on earth did Shermaine detect it?’

With these questions burning in his mind, the doctor really wanted to get a clear explanation from Shermaine, but there was no opportunity right now.

The doctor thought, ‘If only I could! Then, when I encounter patients with similar issues in the future, I could act quickly and save more lives.’

As word quickly spread among the distinguished guests that Leslie’s condition was caused by a poisonous worm, everyone recalled the horrific scene of him vomiting blood earlier. The thought sent chills down their spines; it was clear just how terrifying and lethal such a thing could be.

The guests murmured among themselves.

“Who could be so vicious, using something so disgusting to hurt others?” someone whispered.

“Exactly, that’s downright malicious,” another agreed.

“The culprit must be among us. It’s making me feel rather uneasy,” someone else added.

Hearing the murmurs around her, Wendelyn broke into a cold sweat. Shermaine really did remove the poisonous worm from Leslie. Even if she had drunk that glass of wine, she could have saved herself. It wouldn’t have been the instant death Wendelyn imagined.

Seeing that the guests were still focused on the poisonous worm incident, the emcee took the stage and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the unpleasant incident earlier this evening.

“I know everyone may still be feeling a bit unsettled, so to help lighten the mood, why don’t we invite Ms. Wendelyn Jean to perform a piece for us?

“Ms. Jean has thoughtfully prepared a special piece to celebrate her sister’s engagement to Mr. York. Let’s give her a warm welcome!”

All eyes were on Wendelyn as she moved stiffly onto the stage. She took her seat, her fingers trembling as they hovered over the piano keys.

Ruth proudly boasted to those around her, “Wendelyn is an amazing pianist; she’s even won international awards! If she weren’t so passionate about literature and only played piano for mental cultivation, I’m sure she would have gone to study at Silverleaf Institute of Music by now.”

The others humored her with polite smiles. “Well then, I’m looking forward to hearing her play,” one of them chimed in. After all, as a renowned musician, she was genuinely curious–just how talented could Ruth’s much praised daughter really be?

Shermaine looked at the stage, her lips curling into a slight smirk. If she wasn’t mistaken, Wendelyn picked this place hoping to play while watching Shermaine die.

Now that her plan had failed, Shermaine wondered if she could even bring herself to keep playing.

Wendelyn sat frozen at the piano, not making a move.

“Are you going to play or not?” someone called out.

“Are you sure you can play?” another jeered.

“Relax, we won’t laugh if you mess up,” someone else added with a smirk.

Under the pressure of the murmurs and taunts from the audience, Wendelyn had no choice but to take a deep breath and finally begin playing.

Yet, the harder she tried not to make a mistake, the more mistakes she made.

Right from the start, her fingers stumbled over several wrong notes.

The musician, who had been looking forward to Wendelyn’s performance, stopped smiling. This was far from amazing, yet Ruth actually had the audacity to boast.

Ruth, being musically untrained, couldn’t detect the flaws and simply thought it sounded pleasant. She beamed with pride, “See? Isn’t she amazing?”

The musician smiled faintly. “Mrs. Jean, with your younger daughter’s current piano skills, she wouldn’t even qualify for the piano department at Basterel’s Conservatory of Music, let alone Silverleaf Institute of Music.”

To be charitable, getting a level certification would already be an achievement. After all, for professional musicians, that certification didn’t mean anything.

Ruth’s smile nearly split apart; she was barely able to keep up appearances.

Unable to hide her embarrassment, Ruth snapped, “You don’t even know what you’re talking about. Cut your nonsense!”

‘Alright, I’m just talking nonsense,’ the musician thought. ‘Can’t even handle the truth. Honestly, that’s hopeless.”

“Mrs. Jean,” someone finally spoke up, unable to stand it any longer. “This is Mollie Hart, one of our country’s most renowned pianists.”

Ruth froze instantly. She had heard of Mollie’s name before but had never seen her in person. Who would’ve thought the person she was just casually bragging to was actually Mollie herself?

The humiliation struck like a violent storm–so sudden and overwhelming that Ruth could barely process it. Could Wendelyn really be as incompetent as Mollie said?

Halfway through her performance, several uniformed police officers suddenly entered the party hall. Wendelyn’s fingers slipped across the piano keys, producing a jarring dissonance that made everyone wince and cover their ears.

Her face turned ashen, her eyes brimming with uncontrollable terror.

‘Police again?’ Wendelyn thought, her chest tightening with panic.

Guided by someone, the officers quickly approached Shermaine.

Whatever Shermaine told them made the officer turn to look at Wendelyn, and they strode purposefully toward the stage.